JAMAICA’S Paralympians were given a further financial boost towards participating at the IPC Athletics World Championships in France, as China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) pumped in $500,000 towards their expenses.
With the games set to run from July 20-29, the total sponsorship package to date is $4.4m following Digicel’s $2.4m, and Supreme Ventures’ $1.9m . The opening ceremony was held Friday in Lyon.Jennifer Armond, CHEC’s communications manager, told the Jamaica Observer that her organisation is continuing its support for Jamaican athletes.“China Harbour has projects in 80 countries around the world and they always try to find ways where they can blend in with the culture of each country they enter, and being an engineering and construction company, mostly male-oriented, sports tends to be a definitive way to do so. Then, of course, Jamaica being a “Track Star” country, makes it an added attraction in the decision-making process,” said Armond.“CHEC’s sponsorship of sporting activities started in 2011 with a $300,000 donation to the Christina High School daCosta Cup football team for their purchase of gear and other items needed to compete.“This school was located adjacent to our Christiana Development Road JDIP project, so we granted their request as part of our corporate social responsibility policy that is integral to CHEC’s company culture of assisting worthwhile causes as for community development,” she noted.“China Harbour then caught the Olympic fever in August 2012 and handed over US$20,000 to the Jamaica Olympic Association in support of the Jamaican athletes in their 2012 London Olympics Games competition. Soon after their victorious return, CHEC spent an additional $2m towards a celebratory concert at the National Arena in October 2012, to honour the athletes, coaching staff and officials to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Armond added.She noted that these donations sparked the interest of other sporting bodies and requests started arriving in their numbers.“A decision was made by our regional general manager, Zhongdong Tang, that China Harbour Engineering Company should support the sport of football through the local Premier League Clubs Association, and they did by donating a whopping $22 million. He felt that as a main contractor for projects all across the country, the boost in football would be a formidable way to reach to the hearts and pockets of the young men that live in the communities who enjoy playing and watching the sport. The donation was used to help maintain the welfare of the football clubs across Jamaica.“The $30,000 ‘Starballer of the Month’ prize was an added incentive to encourage the players, on an individual level, to perform at their best so that in the short term they could win an immediate cash reward and in the longer term add an accolade to their resume, which worked out well for the April 2013 Starballer, Jermie Lynch, who was signed on for a six-month loan contract at Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo in El Salvador,” she added.“At the moment we are reviewing our past experience in sponsoring the 2012-2013 PCLA competition before we make a decision on the coming season, but meanwhile we have continued our interest in track and field events.“As CHEC’s investments and interest deepen in Jamaica and the region, so will their support for cultural exchange; the company’s approach of inclusion and collaboration will prove itself in the days ahead,” said Armond.Jamaica will be represented by seven athletes of which the Championships are expected to draw nearly 2,000 athletes from 118 countries.The team will be captained by Tanto Campbell, who will participate in the F54/56 discus throw. The 2012 Olympic champion Alphanso Cunningham will be looking to continue his rich vein of form at Championships in the F52/53 javelin and discus events. Sylvia Grant is the only woman and will be in the F57/58 javelin and discus. The team is completed by Shane Hudson (T46 200m and 400m); Davis Bascoe (T46 200m and 400m); Romadeo Williams (T46 200m and 400m); and Isaiah Simms (T13 100m and 200m).Neville Sinclair will be the coach with Suzanne Harris-Henry the chef de mission, among the five officials with the team. Jennifer Armond (left), CHEC’s communications manager, handing over the symbolic cheque to Randy Jones (second right), director of the Jamaica Paralympics Association, and Christopher Samuda (right), president, JPA. Also sharing in the moment is Xiao Yanming, general affairs manager, CHEC.
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China Harbour continues to support Jamaican athletes
